


Cross My Palm With Silver

by LadyRhi



Category: Reylo - Fandom, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Chiromancy, Emotional Sex, Enemies to Lovers, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fate & Destiny, First Time, Forbidden Love, Force Bond (Star Wars), Fortune Telling, Happy Ending, Intense Gazing, Magic, POV Rey (Star Wars), Romance, Romantic Soulmates, Tarot, Tasseomancy, Vaginal Sex, Virgin Ben Solo, Virgin Rey (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:47:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26358943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyRhi/pseuds/LadyRhi
Summary: A prickle of portent trips down Rey's neck one morning as the sun rises over Starkiller Keep and the Wanderers encampment sheltered in its shadow. Asking the traditional two nights of Sanctuary from Master Snoke always leaves the band of nomadic peddlers of Simples on-edge, but this time the shifting energies tell her that something momentous is about to happen ... to her.The hazy promise of mint leaves, a tarot card that refuses to be drawn, and the whisper of something magical in the air dancing through the fall of glass beads over the entrance to her tent herald the advent of destiny as a tall, dark, and decidedlynot handsomefigure strides across Rey's threshold.By the pricking of my thumbs, somethingseductivethis way comes...
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 14
Kudos: 26





	1. Mint & Portents

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A heartfelt thank you to [lizzysbennett](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizzysbennett/pseuds/lizzysbennett) for bearing up under my barrage of questions about tarot card reading, and patiently answering every single one! If there are any goofs, they are certainly mine. ~ Thank you to [DarkKnightDarkSide](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkKnightDarkSide/pseuds/DarkKnightDarkSide) for helping me figure this new adventure out, but more than anything, for giving me the virtual smack upside the head I needed to stop panicking about writing an AU and just let the story do its job. You ladies are rock stars!
> 
> Much love! ♥

Rey sat sipping her cup of mint tea, enjoying the fragrant steam rising up into her face. It was heavenly after the hard work she'd done, putting up her little blue tent in the chilly morning air. She was prepared, for the most part, with her round table set in the center, a chair for herself and one for her patrons. Trunks served as storage and additional surface space while rugs were laid out to protect her bare feet from the damp grass, everything a riot of color and intricate patterns that stimulated the senses. Across the opening behind the tent flap, glass beads hung in a cascading curtain through which her patrons would pass, allowing Rey to know when someone approached, preventing unwanted visitors from sneaking up on her.

She laughed a little at that, her copper earrings tinkling merrily as she shook her head. As though it were possible to catch her unawares. No, the clinking beads merely made it impossible to approach her quietly, letting her know when company _—_ already expected _—_ had finally arrived.

Swirling her tea so the delicate leaves danced before settling back to the bottom of the cup, Rey let her eyes wander around the small space. Her large cut-crystal seeing stone sat in pride-of-place at the center of the table, scarves laid out beneath and around it to please the eye and protect her hands from lying on the hard wooden surface as she reached for a patron's palm. A bundle of sage sat smoking in a tin bowl, already burnt down a fair bit after the smudging she'd performed before the tent stakes had been driven into the damp earth _—_ it wouldn't do to have latent energies and unexpected spirits lingering over her while she plied her trade.

Yes, everything was in order, and she nodded in satisfaction to herself before turning to trace a finger over the card lying at the top of her personal deck. Rey liked to get a sense of the day ahead before it properly began and she'd found the cards tended to be more amenable when she allowed them to sit and keep her company quietly as she finished her tea.

Her fingertip passed over the delicate design painted across the back of the card, caressing it contemplatively. She allowed her mind to drift a little as she felt her aura taste the shifting energies in the air. Beyond her tent flap, Rey could just hear the busy toil of others as they set up stands and tents of their own, hoping to draw patrons over for a reading or small curative. There was always profit to be had when the Wanderers camped in Ilum.

Not that it would be a carefree stay. Concern over _who_ owned the ground on which the caravans would be permitted to abide for the traditional two nights of Sanctuary imbued the atmosphere with a weightiness that was mildly unsettling. Rey tried to block it out, taking slow breaths. There was reason to be wary, true, but even a practitioner of the Dark Ways like Master Snoke had to respect the long-standing pact kept with the Wanderers. It was a tense agreement, but one that had endured for hundreds of years, since the conclusion of the Shadow Wars enforced a truce between the Masters of Dark and Light. Caught in between and deemed unworthy of either allegiance, the Wanderers were granted amnesty and respite from the road in return for the services they offered the populace, a necessary evil to appease their subjects.

 _Wouldn't want the peasantry lining up for such frivolous matters as a spoiled harvest or carbuncles, now would we, O Great Ones,_ Rey thought irreverently, tapping the top card lightly with her fingertip.

It was hard for her to hold it against the mighty Houses and Masters, though. At least their hauteur ensured a livelihood for those such as herself.

All Wanderers possessed a minor ability with a Simple Working in some form. There were two other fortune-tellers among the band, though one only had an affinity for dream interpretation and the other for mirror scrying. The collected gifts among them, however, gave prospective patrons a variety of options to have their questions answered and problems solved. There were soothsayers, mind-readers, illusionists, hypnotists, and even an herbalist, all touting their services for a bit of silver.

Rey herself had built a modest reputation for the accuracy of her predictions and the potency of the charms she sold, which brought patrons seeking her out by name when the caravans rolled in. Some were even willing to pay double the going rate on the rare occasion they actually got the answer they wanted to hear.

Chiromancy, tasseomancy, and tarot readings were the least of what Rey was capable of, however.

She was different from her fellow Wanderers. Rey possessed true power, magic the like of which only members of the Elder Houses and Orders boasted. Something inside her had always been there and once it had awoken she'd not known what to do with it. 

Old Maz had given her tea leaves and cards to help direct her energies, but it wasn't enough, not truly. She'd learned to conceal her overwhelming power, drawing a curtain across her mind and hiding her true self behind it. It was one thing to be a practitioner of Simples in a world hostile towards her sort, but untrained commoners without a sworn allegiance with her kind of power were outlawed as threats to the _rightful_ sovereignty of the mighty.

Rey would be put to death for the crime of existing if she was careless enough to be discovered.

So, she remained in her tent, shuffling cards and keeping the incense lit. It wasn't a particularly interesting life, but it _was_ a life. When something happened to upset the safety of the repetitive routine the Wanderers' lived by, it was often unwelcome, and sometimes even dangerous. It was never a good thing to see someone staring down at a card or bit of looking glass in dismay. Thus, when the gathered mint leaves at the bottom of her cup told her to expect a stranger who would bring pivotal changes to her life, Rey took the warning seriously.

She rolled her eyes, however, at the embellishment that this unknown visitor would be of the tall, dark, and handsome variety.

Rey set down the delicate porcelain cup she'd scavenged from an abandoned farmhouse years ago with a huff of disgust at the leaves' flair for melodrama. Mint really was overrated, she decided as she reached for the card at the top of her deck to begin her morning reading. She stopped, however, fingers carefully holding the edge.

Suddenly, it felt…off. Not _wrong_ , exactly, but something was telling her not to draw the card _—_ not yet, anyway.

Frowning as she considered the card's abrupt disinclination, Rey rose to throw aside her tent flap, hoping the fresh air would help clear her mind. While the misty dawn breeze blew in, she shot a mutinous look at the stone monstrosity reigning over the circle of caravans.

The Wanderers had arrived at Starkiller Keep, the First Order's seat of power in Ilum, several hours before sunrise. As was their habit, they'd pitched their camp at the base of the hill, the massive black-stone tower perched above like a lurking raptor ready to strike. None of them were fond of coming here, but there really was no option once they left Hosnia, since the road through the Great Endor Forest passed right into Master Snoke's territory on the way to the safe haven of Coruscant.

Between the name he'd given his fortress, his devotion to the Dark Ways, and the fact that Wanderers always breathed a sigh of relief as they crossed back out of his territory when their requisite two nights’-stay was over, Rey knew everything of the man that she needed to.

There were any number of territorial magnates who saw fit to belittle and even threaten Wanderers while they had caravans camped on their lands, but she didn't really begrudge them. What _did_ get her temper riled was the genuine danger they had come to be wary of when staying in the shadow of Starkiller. From allegedly 'confiscated' goods and an unexplained fire engulfing a tent to squads of First Order troopers wandering down to the encampment for 'a bit of fun,' it was never safe here. The Wanderers always remained close together and guarded their backs warily until they were off on the relative security of the road.

As Rey was tying off the flap of her tent, she caught sight of her friend, Finn. The last time they'd camped on Snoke's land, a group of burly troopers had followed him out past the circle of caravans, making a run to gather fresh water for the horses and cookpots. They'd given chase and caught him just as he'd reached the camp. Poor Finn _—_ he'd lost two fingers that day. He was still the happy, optimistic young man he'd always been, but as she watched him, Rey noted that he kept well within the boundary of the caravans, hands rubbing the fabric of his trousers nervously.

Most among the Wanderers had a story to tell of misfortune involving Snoke's men. Thus far, Rey herself had managed to avoid notice and kept a careful watch for roving troopers when they swaggered down from the grim fortress, senses alert for sinister shifts in the energies around her.

Turning to look now, however, Rey saw that though there was no sign of a trooper squad, a lone shadowy figure descended along the jagged path towards the encampment, trailing a sense of foreboding along behind him like the black cloak he wore.

Typically, it would be that bully, Armitage Hux who'd stomp down to the caravans and bellow out his demands for the Wanderers' good behavior as the sainted Master Snoke benevolently granted the worthless wretches Sanctuary on his land, as if it weren't the time-honored custom. This occasion was to be different, it would seem, for though he certainly stomped, the man who arrived to negotiate the terms of Sanctuary with Old Maz was not the disagreeable pudding-head Rey always swept the flap of her tent closed at the sight of.

Her eyes were fastened to the massive man the moment she spied him, taking in the hazy details of his cloaked form and face as they were slowly revealed the closer he drew. A telling prickle of portent along her spine confirmed her suspicions.

 _Well, that was much sooner than I'd expected. Maybe mint isn't so overrated, after all,_ she thought to herself with some humor.

The strange man's gaze snapped towards her suddenly and Rey stepped back into the shadows, pulling her brightly-colored skirts around her to keep them out of sight as her heart sped up in surprise. She didn't think she'd been visible behind her veil of glass beads, but she'd rather not take chances, pudding-head or no pudding-head.

No Wanderer would ever wish to draw _this_ man's attention.

When she'd seen his face fully, Rey had recognized him _—_ Kylo Ren, Master Snoke's new Disciple in the Dark Ways. Though she'd never set eyes on him herself, other Wanderers had passed around a description of the tall, fierce-eyed heir presumptive of Ilum.

Failing to recognize and pay proper obeisance to the mighty could mean life or death. The shifts within the hierarchy of the powerful were carefully watched by those least able to defend themselves when those conversions threatened to topple the delicate balance between the adherents of the Dark and Light.

Eyeing the man up and down while he turned his attention back to Old Maz, annoyed that he'd made her startle, Rey's brows drew together critically. He was undeniably tall and the generous waves of his black hair certainly counted as 'dark.' As to the last bit of this morning's premonition, though, Rey cast a scornful glance at her empty teacup.

"I wouldn't call him _handsome,"_ she muttered at the sodden leaves rebelliously, ignoring the dramatic contrast of midnight hair framing moon-pale skin, and the way the lines of his tunic stretched over broad shoulders. She turned resolutely away, shrugging off the portentous prickling that raised the fine hairs along the nape of her neck as it grew more insistent.

Leaving the tent flap open without considering the wisdom of it, she listened with pleasure to the chiming music of the beads as the breeze danced through them. Rey reached for calm, seeking to shove aside the intrusion of the mysterious stranger outside as she set about one last task in preparation for her first patron.

She sank down next to one of her smaller trunks, heavily battered from years of traveling in the back of her caravan. Sifting through, she found the little package wrapped in jewel-toned veils. Unwinding the diaphanous fabric, Rey checked to be sure the cards were no worse for wear after this latest jaunt from Hosnia. Shuffling them gently in her lap, she felt the energies in the air around her shift as the cards were cleansed in preparation. 

While her personal deck was used exclusively for her own readings, this one was for those who'd come to her seeking a peek into the future, asking about wealth or prestige. Typically it was love they wanted to know about. She'd lost count of how many times she'd had a young woman leave her tent either grinning from ear to ear or sobbing and shrieking unladylike insults at the beaded curtain.

Rey sighed, trying to ease the negative thought from her head. The petty problems and tearful hopes townsfolk came to her with were mind-numbingly dull, but if she was going to do the job, she was going to do it right.

Re-centering herself, she began to shuffle the cards again, the flipping of thick paper a soothing sound. It led her into a state of peace that made her aura hum softly and she let her mind flow outwards, feeling the faint beats of energy from the tools of her trade, the stronger vibrations from the people beyond the fabric walls of her tent, and even the distant, but ever-present dirge from the fulminating Darkness atop the hill.

A spectrum of vibrancy surrounded her, the energies of life streaming between and through them all, tying each to the rest. There was an entire galaxy of existence beyond what could be seen, and so few ever opened themselves up enough to notice. Rey reveled in it, delighting in the way even the unwanted misfits that made up the Wanderers band were connected to the world around them, in spite of what superstitious townsfolk or magisterial Masters dictated. They were a part of the greater whole, tainted or not.

They belonged _—_ if only there were those who dared to see it.

Faintly, she felt a pulse ripple through the air. It sent a wave of energy lightly along her aura, tentatively touching her in a way she'd never experienced before. It was unexpected and strange, but the enticing sensations it stirred tempted her into reaching out in fascination. The force she met beckoned her in closer, whispering a silent suggestion that Rey found herself unafraid to gratify. Drawing back the concealing curtain she kept around her mind, the little flame she hid away inside glowed brightly for an instant as she allowed the power to unfold within her, rising up in answer to the invitation.

They met, and at the moment they touched, both flared in surprise at finding in each other an equal radiance.

Without warning, the luminous touch was withdrawn and that otherness reared up in triumph, emanating Dark intent. Rey quaked as reality crashed down onto her, realizing what she'd done, what she'd revealed so thoughtlessly. She fought to pull herself away, to shut out the intruder, and lock away her dangerous secret, knowing it was far too late.

As she struggled to pull the wayward threads of her awareness back together, Rey heard the scuff of a boot heel as someone stepped up behind her. She cursed herself for becoming too distracted to notice the clinking of her glass beads.

Rey knew it was him _—_ the one who was to bring change to her life in a way that she now feared she could tragically guess at.

"The girl I've heard so much about," his surprisingly soft voice mused from behind her.

Moving cautiously, as though to avoid provoking a stalking creature, she turned to look at him. Up close, he was far more immense than he'd seemed from the safety of her tent, towering over her with a body built for battle. Rising to her feet, Rey was a little dismayed to realize her eyes only came as far as his shoulder, forcing her to arch her neck to look the rest of the way towards his face.

 _Definitely not handsome,_ she told herself stubbornly, trying to build up some courage with the obstinate thought.

It was certainly an interesting face, however. Pale skin practically glowed beneath the stark blackness of hair that fell to his shoulders and was adorned by bold brows looming over deep-set mahogany eyes. Rey's own eyes were compelled to meet them, fixed in the gravitic hold of his gaze by the sheer power of it.

Taking a steadying breath, Rey knew she was in trouble. Within this man, she felt the force that had lured her out of hiding, tricking her into revealing herself as something more than a lowly fortune-teller busking her Simples. She was unwilling to give up without a fight, however. As his heir, Kylo Ren was high in Master Snoke's favor. If she could somehow convince him he'd been mistaken in what he'd felt, she might manage to avoid the fate others like her had been condemned to for the sin of allowing themselves to be discovered. He had to dismiss her as a waste of time, a fluke he'd stumbled across by chance.

Rey steeled her mind and shook out her voluminous skirts, as though unruffled by the sudden appearance of the greatest danger she'd ever faced. She just hoped she'd make it through this still in possession of her liberty _—_ and her life.

"There are those in these lands who know of me, my lord," she said evenly, trying to gauge his mood. He didn't seem angry or on the edge of violence, but there was something about the way he held himself, something that was…waiting.

The sense of premonition prodded at her, again.

"Rey, the fortune-teller," he said softly, the sound of her name on his lips raising pricklebumps along her arms.

To her surprise, he stepped back and his arresting eyes released her to run over her heavy crystal and still-smoking incense with mild interest. The derogatory curl of his lip sparked irritation in her. Now that she was free of his heavy gaze, Rey was able to regain her mental footing enough to cry out in affront when a gloved hand reached down and plucked up the card she'd brooded over earlier.

"Lord Ren!" she exclaimed, trying to grab the card from him, shivering at the ripple of energy that stirred the air. He held it out of reach, however, and turned his eyes back to regard her appraisingly.

"So, you know who I am," he remarked, clearly pleased that his reputation had preceded him.

 _Oh yes, I've heard all about you,_ she thought in annoyance.

There were quite a few rumors about Snoke's heir. He was testy, moody, and given to bouts of rage that left even seasoned troopers shaking in their boots. The most intriguing whispers about him, however, suggested that 'Kylo Ren' wasn't his real name. Folk spoke of an Elder House whose heir had gone missing or had betrayed them, perhaps. The stories were vague on the details. Rey set great store by rumor, the means by which the Wanderers kept up with the happenings throughout the lands _—_ though she fed each whisper the grain of salt which was its due. If the tales were true, however, if the tall man in the hooded black cloak was who the gossips suggested he was, then…

Either way, Rey's day had just become complicated. She had to tread carefully.

"It would be rather foolish to beg Sanctuary without knowing from whom we are asking it," Rey commented. He wasn't acting as though he were about to arrest her. Perhaps the curtain she'd drawn back across her mind concealed her enough that he assumed she was merely the purveyor of Simples that she worked so hard to appear.

"Indeed," Kylo acknowledged, watching her closely, gloved finger running along the fraying edge of the card he held captive.

 _"Please,"_ Rey exclaimed with an edge of frustration she couldn’t help, clenching her fists and trying to keep from grabbing his hand to take back what was hers. He canted an eyebrow at her but stopped fiddling with the delicate paper, all the same.

"How may I be of service, my lord?" she rushed to ask, unnerved by the intensity of his gaze on her face.

"A good question," he said, musingly.

Nerves getting the better of her, Rey stepped over to her chair, giving the Disciple a wide berth and putting the table between them. It certainly wasn't much of a shield, but she felt the need to keep him at bay.

"I could sell you a charm to ward off bed bugs or cure hemorrhoids," she offered, hoping to deter his interest and get him to leave. "But something tells me Master Snoke's Disciple wouldn't be interested in any of that."

"I wouldn't," he confirmed abrasively, taking the seat opposite Rey's, to her dismay.

Kylo rested his leather-sheathed arm on the veil-strewn surface, a stark shadow amidst so much vibrancy. He flicked the corner of the card deliberately, tauntingly, having seen how it upset her. Then he leaned forward slightly, sending a frisson tripping up her arms as everything seemed to grow still, as though the world held its breath in anticipation. That prickle grew stronger, pressure building at her temples.

"What I _am_ interested in is you."

He threw the card down on the table, sending a wave of power crashing around them.

Rey gasped in shock, seeing Kylo react similarly, the air pulsing around them with vehemence. She couldn't have stood from the table and broken away from him if she'd tried, the pull of looming fate was so strong.

She fought hard to prevent the upwelling of fear within her from showing on her face. Kylo Ren's interest had nothing to do with her Simples, so he was either crudely propositioning her…or he hadn't been fooled and could sense she was the source of magic he'd uncovered.

"I offer only Simple fortunes and charms, my lord," Rey said firmly, making her gambit for misdirection. She refused to allow herself to blink as danger rose before her like a snake, coiled and waiting with fangs bared. "Any other _services_ are not for sale."

Kylo's gaze grew heated and dropped to the curves outlined by her blouse, trailing along the lock of hair resting against her neck where it had escaped her pins, and back up to linger on the curve of her lips as they thinned at the blatant show of masculine hunger.

And curse her, she fell for it.

Rey dropped her guard, thinking she'd outmaneuvered him, ready to deliver a satisfying set-down. The moment she relaxed, though, he struck.

A lance of Dark power penetrated her mind, digging deep, effortlessly rebuffing her delayed attempt to prevent him and tearing away her curtain of concealment entirely. She gasped in pain, hunching forward over the table and trying desperately to slow him down, to keep him from the deepest of her secrets. It was to no avail, however. Kylo's mind was relentless, overwhelming her every attempt at defense and obstruction.

Rey cried out, lost amidst the force of his onslaught. No matter what she threw in his way _—_ bits of inane childhood memory, recipes for boil liniment, or the remembered sensation of fracturing her wrist when she’d helped roll the caravan wheel off Finn’s hand _—_ Kylo shoved it all out of his way, pressing onwards, allowing her to keep nothing hidden.

Finally, he found his quarry. She sensed his exultation when he halted his brutal advance and regarded the bright core of power nestled in her mind. Kylo circled it like a prowling creature examining his prey. Rey could only gasp as she tried to recover, the pain of his assault sending aftershocks reverberating through her head.

As she slowly regained her equilibrium, she fixed her eyes on the black-clad man continuing to stare at her in fascination.

 _Fascination?_ Rey thought in confusion, a line forming between her brows.

Yes, he was captivated by what he’d wrested from her, the mortal secret which necessitated every precaution she took in order to survive. She sensed his wonder, the slight feeling of perplexity in unearthing so powerful a gift within one such as her. Eyes narrowing, she dared to nudge weakly at his own mind and Rey realized there was something else.

Desire.

Her lips parted in shock and Kylo seemed to realize that by invading her, he’d left the way clear for Rey to delve into his mind. He tore himself away, the abrupt departure wrenching cries of discomfort from them both. For a moment, Rey saw vulnerability in his gaze, but then he mastered himself and it was obscured behind those discontented shadows, once more.

“No mere Simples vendor, after all,” he murmured, the slightest upturn of his lips transforming his expression into a mocking smirk.

Rey wasn’t sure what to say, what she could do to stay the Disciple from condemning her to certain death. She was still reeling from what he’d done to her, thoughts scattered as she desperately tried to pull herself back together. She had to fight _—_ she had to survive.

Kylo watched her foundering efforts to regain her footing in silence. His forbearance in allowing her time might have seemed a mercy, but Rey knew better. 

“What do you want, Lord Ren?” Rey asked. She needed to know what it would take to ensure his silence, if that was possible, though she was careful to withhold any admission of guilt.

He just looked at her. Those deep, extraordinary eyes of his bored into hers, seeming to seek her very soul. It terrified her and…thrilled her?

Giving herself a mental shake, Rey fixed him with her gaze, willing her survivor’s backbone to restore itself. She was no helpless damsel, no defenseless waif. Kylo Ren knew her secret, and by the Maker of Light, she was going to fight for her freedom, if necessary.

His eyes passed back and forth between hers, seeing the iron solidify, her resolve reinforcing her courage. She almost thought she saw admiration flare briefly in his expression before it settled back into those stern, somewhat sullen, lines that threatened to carve themselves eternally into his face.

Kylo reached a leather-covered hand across the table, palm facing upwards.

"Do it," he dared her, jerking his chin at the crystal on her table and the stack of cards beside it. _"Without_ the Simple tricks and nonsense."

"It's _not_ trickery," Rey corrected him sharply, furious at his lack of respect for the only means by which she and her people were allowed to survive in a world that was unkind to their sort.

"It's nothing," he said dismissively, voice dropping as he leaned in towards her. "Nothing compared to what you can really do with that spark you're trying so hard to conceal in your mind."

Her eyes widened in fear. _Oh no._

"I don't know what you're suggesting," she prevaricated, fiddling with the fringe of the veil she kept nestled around the base of her crystal.

"Yes, you do," Kylo said, his confidence clamping a fist around her heart. "Do it. Do something _real."_

“I _don’t_ know what you’re talking about,” Rey insisted, knowing it was pointless, that he’d seen the full truth already. She just didn’t know what else to do. Her throat tightened as she felt the trap close around her.

"Then perhaps your band of Wanderers isn't welcome here, after all," he heartlessly suggested.

Rey met Kylo’s coercive eyes in outrage, her own danger momentarily forgotten as fury rose within her that he'd callously threaten her peoples' safety on a whim. With the promise of Sanctuary withheld, anyone with a grudge or prejudice towards the Wanderers would be able to harass and even harm them without penalty. Snoke's own troopers would certainly take gleeful advantage.

With no choices left, Rey nodded, ready to give him the show he asked for.

"Shouldn't you say something like, 'cross my palm with silver?'" he asked, slanting an eyebrow tauntingly at her.

Rey wrinkled her nose in annoyance but refused to let him goad her further. She'd landed herself in it, as it was. There was no need to make matters worse.

"Free of charge to the good patron for his generosity in allowing the lowly Wanderers to shelter on his Master's land," Rey offered pointedly, settling her skirts about her.

"We'll see," Snoke's Disciple said challengingly as he held his hand out to her, palm up.

Rey felt a strong pulse in the air, the energies between her and her unwelcome patron suddenly weighted with significance. Kylo's brows twitched in surprise and their gazes met in shared apprehension. For a moment, she thought he might withdraw his hand, but after taking a subtle breath she saw resolution in his eyes and his hand remained before her.

"Remove it," Rey said, nodding at the smooth leather of his glove.

"That's not necessary," Kylo scoffed. "You're not trying to find some fanciful meaning along the lines of my palm."

"I'm not taking your hand with it on,” she stood her ground stubbornly. It had nothing to do with her ability to work her craft. She was tired of his ceaseless importunities.

With a huff of annoyance, he worked the leather from his hands, dropping the gloves into his lap and then holding his bared palm out to her, once again.

Rey curled her lips in distaste, but reached for him, looking to be done with this intolerable pantomime, whatever the outcome. A strange certainty filled her abruptly, however, the moment before her skin brushed his.

There would be no turning back.

Looking up in apprehension, Rey sought Kylo’s eyes.

"Don't be afraid," he said, taking her aback with the gentleness suffusing his voice and dark eyes. "I feel it, too."

Despite herself, Rey found his reassurance made her feel better, bolstering her nerves for what they both felt approaching. Stretching the last few inches, her fingertips slid along his and her trembling eased away entirely. Her other hand came up to cradle the back of his, holding it delicately as though it was infinitely precious _—_ as though he was.

Staring into Kylo's eyes, she felt the energy in the air fill her mind. She reached out with her senses, seeking, fumbling—then finding.

Rey fought to hold onto her sense of self, but it was impossible as the force flowing through her built up within her mind and surged towards his. Memories, many sternly repressed, stormed through her, relentless and indecipherable.

A troubled childhood. A cold voice stealing into his dreams. Comforting arms withdrawing as power grew and chaos claimed him.

Fear. Betrayal. Torment. Rage.

Violence, loss, and grief. Self-loathing.

A broken heart yearning to be made whole.

Then the tide of power rose up and broke over Rey. She spoke…

_Cast off that which is false..._

_that which uses and takes and consumes, but gives naught in return._

_Reach out for that which is true..._

_that which holds value beyond power, and offers all in fair exchange._

_Become that which you are meant to be..._

_that which you once were and could be again._

_The strength of your mother and the heart of your father live on within you..._

_endure in hope, young Skywalker._

Rey's whole body shook as she dropped Kylo's hand. She collapsed back into her chair, struggling to work moisture back into her mouth and steady her ragged breathing. It had never taken this much of a toll on her the few times she'd secretly attempted to exert her will into a Greater Working.

She gradually regained her balance, though a headache began to pound at her temples. Rey reached up to press her fingers to her head but encountered another, larger hand that got there before her. Dragging her eyes open, she saw Kylo Ren kneeling on the floor before her, so close she could see the intricate designs etched into the warm brown of his irises. His wide fingertips skimmed gently along her hairline, trailing fine tingles in their wake. Exhausted, she could only sit there, gaze caught in his.

Their auras brushed along one another with his skin touching hers and the feel of him set Rey’s to humming quietly in unexpected welcome. Kylo’s reciprocated, easing along hers in what felt like a caress. It was so incredibly intimate _—_ more so than she'd ever allowed anyone else to be with her, as uncomfortable as having her aura intruded upon by another could be. 

She saw his eyes soften and the magical effect it had on his expression was mesmerizing. That gentle look transformed his whole face, making him appear a completely different person than the haughty enforcer who'd strode into her tent.

The mint leaves had been right, she conceded _—_ he was handsome.

Rey became distracted from her nonsensical musings when she slowly began to realize the pain in her head was ebbing away. A small, but soothing light took its place and filled her with comfort. Blinking, her lips parted slightly in astonishment at the man before her.

_Is this ... did he Heal me?!_

All thoughts of amazement at experiencing a Greater Working for the first time and the contradiction that made in her understanding of Snoke’s Dark Disciple fell away as his eyes dropped from hers to fix on her mouth. She watched in fascination as his pupils bled outwards, consuming the rich umber surrounding them. Then he was leaning forward, sure and intent.

Kylo pressed his lips to hers.

Rey's mind quaked in shock at his advance, but as he tipped his head, altering the angle at which his mouth moved over hers, she lost track of her initial reservation. Kylo’s lips created a tantalizing friction that sent shivers trailing through her body, liquid heat dripping to pool deep in her belly. Enticed by the unexpected rush of sultry want, she allowed herself to be seduced.

She'd been kissed before, but rarely did Rey allow anyone so close. With Kylo, though, the sensations that flowed through her aura, even as they raced through her body, were utterly entrancing. She didn't feel threatened or invaded by him, her mind welcoming the touch of his as she'd never known before.

Kylo's presence surrounded her, engulfing her senses. The caresses of his mouth teased soft noises from Rey. He took them in, consuming them as though she were a rare delicacy he couldn’t get enough of. Warmth rippled through her, radiating from where his hands cradled her face with exquisite care, as though she were made from the finest crystal. His ardor sparked something within her and she found her hands rising to reach out for him in return.

An aching groan escaped him as Rey’s fingers tentatively played with the silky strands laying against his high collar. Emboldened by his response, her fingertips dove into the thick black waves, reaching his scalp to draw her nails across his skin. Kylo gave a shudder and pressed his tongue to her lower lip in entreaty.

He tasted of spiced wine and passion. Delving into her mouth, he drew a moan from her to match the one she'd won from him, but Rey was no meek miss to passively submit as he took all he wished. She met his advance, angling her head to stroke along the side of his tongue with her own, relishing the way he stiffened in surprise before moving in to deepen the kiss even further. The energies around them seemed to ignite as the fire between them burned hotter.

Rey lost herself in the heady waves of pleasure that washed over her as her mouth met Kylo's again and again. She could barely draw breath, for how they fought to find a way to be closer, to brush and caress and nip just once more. His lips were so silky-soft and, Maker of Light, he knew how to use them. Unable to get enough, Rey drew the generous swell of his lower lip into her mouth and sucked on it with relish.

Then Kylo's hand dropped from her jaw, a broad fingertip gliding downwards along her throat until he reached the neckline of her blouse. When she felt him begin to tug at the red ribbon that laced up the front, his intention clear, Rey came back to her senses in a sobering rush. Shoving him away, she stood and staggered back from Kylo, leaving him seething on the ground.

Her turbulent emotions clashed with the rising outrage she felt at seeing the irate set of his face, indignant that he would take offense. Rey fixed him with a fierce scowl, fisting her hands in her skirts to hide the way they shook.

"Get out," she demanded, voice low and implacable. She was beyond caring who he was or what he could do to her.

Rising as well, Kylo ignored her command as he took a step closer. Rey fought to keep herself from backing up to hold the distance she'd set between them. She refused to show weakness before this man who already held so much power over her.

"You don't want me to leave, Rey," Kylo said seductively, eyes black as midnight almost to the rims of his irises, his own voice uneven with the ragged edge of his breathing.

"Yes, I do," she insisted, voice growing stronger with rising temper at his flagrant disregard for the boundary she tried to set between them. He just walked right past it while his booted feet came nearer.

"No," Kylo's voice dropped to a sensual murmur, coming to a stop before her and leaned down to brush his cheek against Rey's, lips grazing the shell of her ear as he whispered a dare.

"You want me to bed you."

She pulled back, trying to ignore the way his breath stirring her hair made the delicate muscles in her lower belly clench in helpless confirmation of his words. Frustrated with herself for reacting to him this way, she gave up on her show of strength and stepped back, locking gazes with him in mounting fury.

"I _don't_ want you to bed me," Rey fumed at him. "I don't want so much as your shadow to ever touch me again."

"What?" he sneered, anger of his own lashing in his eyes as he leaned forward to crowd her, again. "Should I have tossed you a silver, first?"

Rey slapped him. A charm from one of her bangles caught on his cheek and scored a jagged line of crimson across the pale skin. Kylo glared balefully at her through a lock of hair she'd dislodged as a ruby drop trailed downwards, extending the bloody mark to his jaw and along his neck to disappear when it reached his high collar.

Energy rose up around them in discord, their auras clashing against one another almost painfully. She was overwhelmed by the tempest raging between and within them.

"Get. Out," Rey growled, raising her chin belligerently. She honestly had no idea what she'd do if he refused, but she needed him to leave _—_ _now_.

"Two nights, Wanderer," Kylo bit out, shoving his fingers savagely through his hair. "When it comes time to see your wretched band off Snoke's lands, I'll be back."

 _For you_ , Rey heard the rest of his words, though they'd not been voiced aloud. It sent a shiver coursing down her spine, and with disquiet, she realized it wasn't out of fear.

His dark eyes glowered down into hers for a few moments more, the silence within the tent belying the tumult of energy roiling around them. Then he turned on his booted heel and stalked out of her tent, leaving without another word.

Watching the glass beads slip from Kylo's broad shoulders as he stormed away, Rey fiddled with the frayed edge of her blouse, the ribbon dangling in a tangled mess.

When he was out of sight and the sound of his stomping boots had faded away, her eyes shifted down to regard the tools for working her Simples with a little consternation. What defense could she possibly face him with?

Then her eyes settled on the worn edges of the single card laid before the seat Kylo had vacated and felt a telling prickle trace lightly down the back of her neck.

Frowning in thought, Rey wondered what her cards were trying to tell Master Snoke's mercurial Disciple.

Sitting down in her seat opposite Kylo's card, she leaned on her forearms to draw closer without touching it. The odd sense of deterrence she’d felt when handling it earlier had disappeared, a sense of rightness settling in.

The deck had spoken as intended.

Staring ahead and allowing her vision to blur, she focused her mind on the air around her. She took a sharp breath of astonishment when she sensed how the energies gathered avidly, meaningfully around the solitary card and the seat which the man who'd drawn it had so recently vacated. It was the strongest auratic concentration she'd ever felt.

And it reached out to enfold her in its prophetic intent.

Rey swallowed hard as she looked down. She couldn't take her eyes off the small painting of a shattered tower, its stones falling towards the crashing waves below. She was transfixed by the two figures plunging into infinity, arms stretching out for one another.

A man with dark hair and a woman in colored skirts.

The painter's rendering meant little in terms of the meaning of a card. The figures could be drawn in any likeness and it wouldn't alter the message, but Rey knew there were few coincidences when it came to the deck which chose you.

She stared at the couples' outstretched arms, hands reaching for one another in longing, or perhaps desperation. Were they facing the fall together, though…or just falling apart?

Rey felt her stomach clench nervously. The Tower always spoke of change, the sort of which was often unpleasant, even dangerous. She didn't want any part of it, but feeling again how the energies around her bound Rey intrinsically to the fate laid out before her, and thus the troubling man it related to, she knew she wasn't likely to be given a choice in the matter.

Slowly, she became aware of a stir in the air, a subtle fluctuation in the energies within the room. Allowing those forces to guide her, she felt her hand drift towards the deck. Rey drew the top card and held it gingerly, as though afraid it might suddenly burst into flames.

Did she dare? Did she even want to know?

Destiny wasn't immutable. The cards only showed what was likely to be, given the state of the people seeking answers at a single instant in time. It could all change. She didn't need to put up with the arrogant Disciple and his unsettling shifts from menacing to tender to seductive, like the phases of the moon.

Rey shook her head at her own folly. She knew better than to defy the will of the force which wove the threads of fate around one another. Whatever the cards foretold might be avoided, true, but at what cost? Side-stepping destiny was never an easy thing and quite often a perilous, even deadly endeavor.

Pressure built, around and within, urging her on. The currents flowing along her aura were whispering at her to release her fears and look to the future, to take the first step towards the path she was to tread. Never had she ever known a card to pull on her so emphatically.

Fingers shaking a little, she slipped the card from the top of the deck. The air calmed somewhat. A sense of expectancy for something momentous pervaded the room and she felt her aura pulse in recognition of coming revelation.

Yet, Rey sensed that abrupt alteration in the force's guidance, urging her to wait, once again. Frowning, she heeded it, however much she wanted to disobey and flip the card to see what future lay before her now. Instead, she placed the card face-down alongside the one Kylo had thrown down in challenge, and breathed out with relief as the pressure in the air released her…for the moment. It remained, however, swirling in portent around those two cards, a tiny ribbon of fate binding her to it and another trailing beyond the curtain of colored glass.

Rey sat there at her table, staring down in dismay at those two cards. She knew deep down that there was no power, Great or Simple, that could prevent destiny from having its way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important Note: Please be aware that the depiction of the Wanderers in this story is not intended to be based on any real-world group or culture. The nomadic existence described is a result of in-story prejudice towards the members' magical abilities, not race or religion.
> 
> **BTS Ramblings:**
> 
> **Pricklebumps:** Until now, I've only ever written Canonverse stories. In them, I refer to 'goosebumps' as 'pricklebumps,' since I think that the real-world feel of the former can break the sense of immersion. In this story, Reylo are in a world that probably actually has geese in it (I don't know, I haven't checked), but I fell in love with the new term and had to use it.
> 
>  **Magic vs. Force:** We all know that the Force is essentially space magic, but adapting the power from the GFFA in order to fit into a more fantasy-like setting was trickier than I'd anticipated. I tried to line up specific Force abilities with the kinds of magic that might appear in this AU like illusions, mind-reading, etc. Some of the prophetic abilities I slipped in include tasseomancy, onieromancy, catoptomancy, chiromancy (palmistry), and (of course) tarot reading. I felt they were all fun fits, given some of the wacky ways Force-sensitives receive visions in SW.
> 
>  **Bed Bugs & Hemorrhoids:** This was a quippy tribute to one of my favorite characters in The Witcher game franchise—Kiera Metz. Like Rey in this story, she was a powerful sorceress who had to hide the extent of her abilities for fear of being killed because of them. If you've played The Witcher III, you'll probably remember how irate she was about the bed bugs she was forced to live with while in hiding and the tiring peasants who kept on pestering her for hemorrhoid cream.
> 
>  **The Tower Card:** As with all tarot cards, this one can have multiple meanings. Whatever the interpretation, however, The Tower always represents some form of change.


	2. Crystal & Fate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again go out to [lizzysbennett](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizzysbennett/pseuds/lizzysbennett), who was forbearing enough to accept further DM's from me when I suddenly popped up one day, randomly asking about crystals. Your insights allowed me to bring so much to this story that would be sadly lacking otherwise. ~ Once again, love and thanks go to [DarkKnightDarkSide](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkKnightDarkSide/pseuds/DarkKnightDarkSide) for being the intrepid plot-smoothing wizard on this wild ride of an AU! 
> 
> You both got me through this project, make no mistake. It wouldn't have happened without you.
> 
> ...and thank you so much to all those in The PL who put up with my whinging during the zillions of sprints it took me to get this written!
> 
> Much love! ♥

"Anything else, Rey?" Rose asked cheerfully, closing a tin and storing away her measuring spoon.

"No, that's all," she answered, giving the small woman a grateful nod as she squinted against the fiery glow of the setting sun.

"New kind of sachet charm you're looking to start offering, or…?" her friend asked leadingly, raising a brow in eager suggestion.

"It's for a patron," Rey answered, watching as the excited twinkle in the other woman's eyes faded away with disappointment. "Thank you, Rose."

"Welcome!" the herbalist told her, habitual cheeriness reappearing as she turned to finish packing away her scale and alembics in preparation for their departure in the morning.

As Rey walked back towards her blue tent to do the same with her things, she gave a short wave to Poe, who'd called out a greeting from where he was helping Paige dismantle her potion stall. In his distraction, she watched as the wooden structure wobbled a bit where it appeared to float in the air. Sensing the impending calamity, he Caught it just in time to spare his foot a bruising, wincing at the look Paige shot him for his carelessness. Looking over to see whether Rey had witnessed his fumble, he stepped forward with a charming smile and started towards her _—_ only to stare in disappointment at the sight of her receding skirts.

The man was nice enough and well-intentioned, but also utterly incorrigible. Poe had been flirting with her for years. He'd even tried kissing her once, but Rey had quickly put an end to it. He was a good man, truly, and she considered him a friend. The feeling of his aura encroaching upon hers when he'd tried to touch her was far too uncomfortable, however. So, she kept him at arm's-length.

Rey had kept everyone at arm's-length her whole life.

As she reached her caravan, she avoided looking up towards Starkiller Keep. It was a challenge, to be sure, considering how it seemed to fill the horizon with its looming immensity. The sun sank down behind it, casting molten rays of light in one final attempt at brightening the world before it gave in to the lure of night. Rey refused to so much as pay the tower fortress the courtesy of witnessing its oppression, only reminding herself that however desolate the darkness, that burning ember would rise again.

_But will I?_

Shaking her head at her fatalistic thoughts, Rey parted the curtain of glass beads across the opening of her tent, their clinking music marking her passage as she left the grim sight behind. Hearing the quiet buzzing sound that had sent her off on her errand, she looked up. Rey nodded in greeting to her tiny visitor, then stepped over to the small crate in which her porcelain teacup was cradled carefully in a stained satin cloth, a pouch of mint leaves beside it. Taking the small bag of fragrant mint leaves out, she set the packet of pennyroyal in its place, in the hope of drinking the brew they'd make come the morning.

As with Poe and every other man who'd ever tried to close the distance she'd set to protect herself, Rey considered that perhaps she'd been too cynical. The star-spun hours of the night must be endured in order to know the true joy of dawn, after all. Discomfort and dread were sometimes the gatekeepers to a far greater prize _—_ to something worth overcoming them for.

The pouch of dried leaves was Rey's promise to herself that fear would no longer rule her. Fate had laid itself out in painted portent before her, heralding a time of revelation to come that would be for her to face beside the man whose own destiny was unexpectedly woven through the threads of her own. She could turn away from it _—_ from him _—_ and hide away behind her curtain, perhaps damning them both, but ultimately safe from the perils of trusting another with her future.

 _Or my heart,_ she added to herself, eyeing the card which remained lying face-down on the wooden table, waiting.

It could spell disaster. Considering who Kylo Ren was, it could so easily reveal itself as the harbinger of the end of everything.

Closing her eyes, Rey drew a calming breath, quieting her mind as she stroked her fingertips over the packet of herbs. She chose to hope, instead.

She let the breath out slowly, leaving the crate and walking over to the table. The two rectangles of paper remained laid out upon it, just as they'd been the morning before, when her temperamental guest had grabbed the card from the top of the deck and thrown it down in challenge.

It wasn't going to be as easy as simply following what the premonition seemed to be telling her, however _—_ Rey had never been one to accept anything without question. Reaching out, she brushed a finger lightly scented by the fragrance of the herbs over the back of her card, a nascent wish whispering from somewhere within her that she was desperately trying to find the strength to trust in.

She had to be certain.

The soft buzzing suddenly drew closer and Rey looked down to watch as the little honey bee came to rest on her wrist, its iridescent wings tickling her skin ever so gently. Chin pebbling with emotion, Rey smiled down at him in gratitude.

When her tiny friend rose into the air and flew out into the darkening evening air, she pulled her hand away, ready for the coming arrival his visit portented...and the promise of what it could mean. Then, she set about packing up the last few bits and bobs that weren't already wrapped and nestled safely in the trunks she'd lugged onto the back of her caravan before walking over to get what she needed from Rose. She examined a chip in one of the clay cups she used with patrons, frowning in annoyance at the thought of the townsman who'd chucked it at her for offering a tea leaf reading in place of her cards.

Whatever else was on her mind, she'd had patrons to see to the past two days, fortunes to tell and silver to make, but the cards of her personal deck remained as they'd been placed. Though a number of those who came seeking her services had stormed out in a huff when she'd refused to perform a tarot reading for them, insisting she'd only be offering chiromancy or tasseomancy during her stay this time, Rey had been unwilling to disturb the message laid out before her.

She found her gaze unintentionally wandering over to the table as she wrapped the cup in a wool cloth, unable to distract her mind from what she suspected the cards could mean. With a huff of defeat, Rey stored the wrapped package securely away, closing her trunk and rising to wander back over. She sat in her chair and leaned over to see the details of the painting more clearly.

The Tower. It meant change and upheaval…sometimes even destruction. Something new was to come, replacing what was.

Kylo Ren was Master Snoke's Disciple, heir to the First Order's territory in Ilum, so it could have any number of meanings when considered in isolation. The thread that bound her to it, however, narrowed the possibilities rather specifically, which brought her back to the card she'd been called to draw. Rey sighed, rubbing the back of her neck to try and ease some of the strain.

It still felt right, whatever the card had to reveal. Yet, it continued to hold her at bay, insisting she wait. Rey had never known cards to prove more temperamental than these. They had deterred her in the past, guiding her to avoid a reading as circumstances shifted or a mind was changed. To hold her in suspense, however, to willfully demand that she abide until a predetermined time to see what was meant for her, was entirely out of character.

Rey worried what it could mean, though she had a shrewd guess.

Peeking towards the chains of beads fluttering gently in the breeze, she felt that prickle once again. She'd thought long and hard about this, forfeiting much-needed sleep the previous night, and determined that she'd see this…whatever this was…through.

 _Better to know what threads fate is drawing around you,_ Rey thought.

She expelled a harsh breath, irritated by the suspense which held her and the energies flowing about her in a stasis of expectation. It felt as though she were standing before a crossroads, but a hand held her fast, preventing her from making her choice and stepping forward to follow it. Though Rey respected the wisdom of the force which sought to guide her, she wasn't very good at sitting idly by.

Turning in her chair, she opened the nearest trunk and drew out a velveteen bag. Placing it in her lap, she untied the drawstrings and reached in, sifting through the grains of salt to feel out what she was looking for. Her groping fingers paused in confusion, though, at the unexpected suggestion that sang out to her in soft persuasion.

Usually, Rey would use her amethyst pendant for this, fashioned from a piece of crystal that had broken off from her large seeing-stone. It was an old companion and one that had often helped her clear her vision as she'd faced troubling times along the road.

Now, though, its soothing, pensive tone was not the one calling out to her. Another, more vibrant melody was stirring her heartstrings as it encouraged her fingers to dig a little deeper. She felt her touch settle over a rough-cut crystal nestled within the pouch of salt. Rey turned the stone delicately so it caught the light and sparkled as she withdrew it, raising her brow a bit sarcastically.

The rose quartz.

Casting a glance back down at the cards before her, she huffed with humor, allowing herself to be led.

Taking a breath to calm her nerves, she pulled back the curtain within her mind slightly, revealing that core of power which pulsed within her like a second heartbeat. She let it flow outwards from her cautiously, mind carefully listening for stirrings of awareness from the tower above the encampment. The roseate stone nestled in her palm basked in the subtle glow of Rey's magic, her aura giving a gentle shiver at the joy of having all that she truly was unfold slightly, like a flower eagerly awaiting the sun's touch to bloom.

Rey took the pendant by the length of braided ribbon it hung from and stretched her arm up, allowing the crystal to dangle down over the two cards. With it twirling slowly before her face, she focused her mind, turning inwards to feel out for the one remaining face-down. Rey allowed her aura to soak in the still-potent energies of the fateful reading that had begun so haphazardly.

Feeling the powerful thrum of life enfold her, Rey turned her mind on the thread that was twin to the one that bound her, trailing away and beyond the opening of her tent. It tugged on the one it tied itself to minutely, but with steadily growing insistence.

Grounding herself, she lingered on the memory of the towering form swathed in unrelenting black, a living shadow that had seemed so out-of-place amidst her colored veils and intricately-patterned rugs. Rey recalled the way the lines of his face had formed expressions of ominous intent and fury. Yet, the depths of his rich brown eyes had also held emotions that utterly contradicted the harsh spite of his words.

Want. Longing. Desire too, and perhaps…

 _Please, let me be right,_ Rey begged of the power which dictated the course of all life, that same force which now pulled her towards a man so frustratingly enigmatic.

And so profoundly conflicted.

She'd sensed it in his mind, seen it in those incredibly affecting eyes, and felt it in the gentle touch that had glided along her skin almost reverently. Then, there was the glimpse she'd had of the secret he hid away deep inside himself, just as she had sought to conceal her own power.

Most telling, however, had been the feat of compassion she'd never have thought to look for from Snoke's Disciple. He had Healed her. It was a power that could never be brought to bear by one loyal to the Dark. For all he professed fealty to a Master of the Dark Ways, Kylo bore a still-burning ember of Light within.

Rey frowned, thinking as she watched the rosy crystal move in small circles over the obscure cards. No, not _Kylo_. 'Kylo Ren' didn't exist, not really. The rumor-mongers were right, at least to a degree. The whispered gossip she'd picked up here and there along the road threaded through her thoughts while the circles slowly widened, weaving together with the echo of the words she’d uttered when he'd placed his hand in hers.

_Skywalker._

Rey knew little of the grand practitioners of either the Light or Dark beyond the ancient schism long maintained by certain Houses and Orders which made their allegiance the epicenter of their existence. The Skywalkers of Chandrila City were the foremost sentinels of the Light.

If Kylo was, in truth, a Skywalker, then she knew who he must be. There was, after all, only one scion of that prestigious House who would be of an age with the Dark Disciple of Ilum.

She looked intently at her pendulum as it began to swing in strong, sure arcs between her and the tent flap. The energies gathered about her seemed to hum softly in emphatic agreement and Rey sighed, closing her eyes. Sparkles of light danced against the black wall of her eyelids in imitation of the lamplight reflected off the facets of the crystal. She watched them, imagining a galaxy full of stars reaching out to embrace her, offering the promise of light even in the blackest depths of the dark.

Rey readied herself as power swelled up, that prickle tripping down the back of her neck. She felt the pendulum slow and then stop, hanging sedately from her fingers. Lowering her arm, she set the blushing stone aside.

Then she opened her eyes and looked into his.

Kylo had reclaimed the seat opposite hers, waiting. He'd come the night before he was due to return, yet he was fully expected, thanks to her little visitor. She hadn't heard him enter the tent this time either, had failed to sense his approach. Her mind seemed to recognize his and, knowing it somehow as she knew only herself, perceived no threat. Odd that, as great a danger as he represented.

"Kylo," she acknowledged him quietly, decision made.

"Rey," his soft voice resonated in the air, stirring the force to suddenly guide her fingers towards the cards between them.

_Almost. Almost there…_

He saw her reach and the pensive look he'd been watching her with twisted slightly in mild contempt. Her hand stilled.

"Why do you bother?" he asked, eyes flicking back up to meet hers.

"Why do you doubt?" Rey questioned in rebuttal.

"Because it's all for show," Kylo scoffed, a sweep of his hand encompassing the tools of her craft as he leaned forward into her space. Then his voice dropped to a near-whisper, the vibration in his chest making it come out like a purr, "and you know it."

"Just because you find no value in something does not render it worthless!" Rey rebuked him. It infuriated her, how he presumed to look down at her life and dismiss any merit it might hold, out of hand.

"It _is_ worthless, Rey," he fumed, struggling to hold onto his irritation. She could see the muscles along his jaw roll. "Why waste your time with soggy leaves and playing cards when you already have all that you need?"

Her temper snapped and she slapped the wooden surface that separated them with her palm. He looked down at her hand before his eyes slowly traveled back up, and the shifting light against his pale skin cast the red scratch mark in stark relief. The ire seeped away from Rey at the sight of it and she allowed her remorse to show in her face.

Kylo's eyes softened slightly and they both settled back a bit, allowing the anger to ease away. Tension still filled the space between them, stirring the agitated energies. Trying to find a steadying rhythm, Rey breathed slowly, though her efforts were challenged by the way her aura seemed to quietly pulse in welcome at his proximity.

Seeking to distract herself from the unruly yearning, and perhaps to make some measure of peace, she gave him a look that asked for his understanding.

"You know what my life is, what I am," Rey pointed out in a quiet voice, wary of speaking of it even in the privacy of her tent. "If I reveal myself, I'll be put to death."

Dark eyes considered her, understanding in them, but she sensed he still wasn't satisfied. Something about her troubled him. He'd left his barriers up around his mind, but they weren't as rigid as they'd been before. She could glean some idea of his feelings if she paid attention. Doing so now, she felt confused.

There was a sorrow that surprised him, but also fury. It wasn't directed at her, however _—_ rather, it rose within him on her account.

Rey frowned, trying to puzzle him out. The man seemed made of contradictions and they bewildered her. His answer to her assertion drew her attention back from the depths of his thoughts before she could puzzle it out, however.

"Not necessarily. Your power is untrained, but you could learn to bend it to your will," Kylo said in a tone that matched hers. "You need a teacher."

"And what, become an Order Master, like Snoke?" she asked incredulously.

"Perhaps," he answered, shrugging.

Rey stared at him, stunned. She'd been worried he would drag her away for execution since the moment he'd strode into her tent, but here he was, suggesting she might rise to a rank that no Wanderer would ever survive long enough to attain.

Almost every Master was a younger son or daughter from one of the Elder Houses who'd had no chance to inherit but was ambitious enough to gather followers around them and claim dominion over territories they could transform into their own private fiefdoms. She'd never heard of a Wanderer who'd ever aspired to something greater than a life on the road without winding up on the gallows, instead.

"They'd kill me the moment I lit a candle with my mind," she told him, shaking her head. "I'll never be anything but filthy Wanderer-scum to the likes of your Master and the sainted Houses."

"To them, Rey," Kylo whispered, making her aura thrum gently, "but not to me."

Warmth bloomed deep in her belly. She fought to tamp down her body's all-too-eager reaction, however, not yet ready to give in to the seductive wave of desire she could feel laying just beyond his loosened barriers. More than ever, she needed to be sure of this. She needed to know she could trust him.

Kylo seemed to pick up on her hesitation and disappointment dragged the lines of his face down briefly, lips twisting as he sought to regain mastery of himself. Attempting to shrug away the awkward moment, he forged on, voice a little rough.

"Learn to harness your power and no one will be able to touch you," Kylo urged her, his hand moving towards hers in offering. "I will teach you."

"Why? What can I offer the mighty Kylo Ren?" she dared to push, longing for him to give her something to believe in.

"Together, we could be great," he told her, the leather of his gloves brushing her fingertips. "You know it's there, whatever this is that's connecting us, that brought me to your tent. The force within you calls to that which lives in me. Our minds reach for one another as though they were created to unite. You and I could be _—_ "

He broke off, huffing in frustration. Slight color stained his cheekbones and Rey wanted to growl in frustration when he rushed to avoid what he'd been about to say, the shape of what he wanted just barely apparent past the walls of his mind.

"The power is within you," Kylo said, voice growing somewhat softer. "I can feel your potential, equal to my own strength, rising to meet it. There are no coincidences for those such as we, Rey. You are meant to stand at my side."

She let out a disappointed breath. This was not quite what she'd been hoping for. True, she'd felt the way the flame within her had awoken to match him, how her aura welcomed, and even yearned for the touch of his. It thrilled her to think she could match the Disciple. Yet, that wasn't enough. Rey wasn't interested in the power plays of the mighty or ruling over the lowly.

No. There was only one offer that would tempt her to take his hand. She accepted that she wanted it and was almost certain he did, as well. If he couldn't recognize and admit to it, however, then there was no substance from which to forge a future together.

"Why waste your time training a wretched Wanderer?" Rey asked him in challenge, throwing the slur back in his face. She was prepared to push them both to the very edge in the hope that they would catch one another rather than fall like the doomed couple painted on the card between them.

"You would not be a waste of time," he bit out, annoyed at her goading, but then seemed to gain control of himself and met her eyes steadily, "not for what we could be."

"I doubt we would ever be anything, _Kylo Ren,"_ Rey dared him, pushing her mind against his insistently. She had no idea what she was doing, but she was determined to drag his walls down. Leaning forward, grazing her own fingers along the seam of his glove, she took a chance, heart in her throat. "But what could I be with Ben Skywalker?"

His dark eyes widened, full lips parting in shock. She held her ground, unwilling to give way this time _—_ not when it meant so much.

Not when it meant everything.

Slowly, he rallied, broad shoulders straightening beneath the stiff black fabric of his tunic.

"I'm not a Skywalker," he grated, voice strained. The hard look in his eyes sought to conceal a deep vulnerability that was nonetheless apparent to her.

She waited patiently, certain she'd finally broken through the mask he hid behind enough to summon forth his true face.

"My mother is Anakin Skywalker's daughter," he told her, referring to the House's patriarch. He swallowed with some difficulty before continuing. "My father's name is... _was..._ Solo."

Sensing the pain that tore through him, Rey suspected Ben's family lay at the heart of whatever had led him to repudiate his identity _—_ to go so far as to dedicate himself to the Dark Ways and offer his fealty to Snoke, of all Masters. Whatever had happened between him and his family, it had to have been soul-shattering to drive him so far.

Looking into the open wound behind his eyes, she saw that it still was. Her heart bled for him.

"Ben Solo," Rey whispered, finding herself savoring the sound of the name. The energies flowing through the air around them resonated with the rightness of it.

Black swallowed the deep brown of his gaze as his pupils dilated at hearing his name on her lips.

They sat there in an eerily familiar stand-off. Whatever the outcome, however, it would not end as it had before, she swore to herself. As the gentle coaxing in the air turned suddenly to urgent demand, Rey stretched out her free hand, keeping the other pressed against his.

Holding Ben’s gaze, she flipped her card.

She didn't even have to look; she already knew. As the painting was bared to the low light of the oil lamp, the image of the two figures burned itself into her mind _—_ loose waves of hair brushing along arms entangled around one another, bodies clasped together and lips seeking the shared breath of passion.

The artist had portrayed the embracing couple as the same two figures who featured on the card Ben had drawn. The dark-haired man's hands brushed over the freckled skin of the woman whose colored skirts were notably absent in this particular rendering.

The Lovers.

The pressure which had been bearing down on her since meeting Ben broke, releasing its hold. Ben rose, slowly rounding the small wooden table. When he reached her, Rey stood as well.

_Reach out for that which is true...that which holds value beyond power, and offers all in fair exchange._

The words of the Foretelling trailed through her mind and she shivered, sensing the force building around them again, a decision to be demanded of them both.

"What would you give, Rey?" he asked. "Would you give all?"

His hand rose to her cheek, tracing leather-clad fingertips along her sun-kissed skin. Rey held her breath, struggling to keep her balance as everything else dropped away, leaving but two options at the crossroads fate had led her to. Suddenly, she was terrified, frozen in indecision, and unsure what path to trust.

It was Ben taking her silence as an answer, as permission, that sent pain tearing through her chest. He took one more step to draw in close and brought both hands to her waist, pulling her into him and pressing their bodies together, gaze heavy with hunger.

Her heart broke. He was still presuming, taking, and offering no reassurance in return. This was no fair exchange. Her temper snapped, and she shrugged him off angrily before shoving her hand under his nose in demand.

 _"Cross my palm with silver!"_ Rey growled fiercely up into his face, evoking his parting slander the last time he'd tried to lay his hands on her. She dared him to do it with the fire in her eyes, to throw everything that could have been away with this final insult.

And he took it.

Ben placed no coin in her hand, but reached out and claimed it in his own. Yanking her towards him, he wrapped his free arm around her and pulled her body firmly against him again. Rey tried to struggle out of his hold, but he was too strong. She was alarmed at first, thinking she'd badly misjudged him, placed too much faith in what she'd thought the cards were telling her. Panic eased away, however, as he made no further move to molest her. His grip was firm, but he wasn't hurting her.

Rey looked up at him carefully, still hesitant to fully commit to the path laid before her, half-believing she should turn and take the other. Daring to peer into his eyes again, she saw remorse there, and when she relaxed a little at seeing it, that softness she longed for appeared in them, too. She held her mind just out of reach, yet her aura melded with his in an embrace that felt like…belonging.

She wanted so badly to believe in him.

Ben watched her carefully, waiting to see whether she would remain or wrest herself away, once again. When he saw she was on the threshold, needing only a nudge to bring her across it, he leaned down and gently pressed his lips to hers.

His overture was soft and coaxing, speaking to her in a language that seemed so extraordinarily more articulate than the words they had only found frustration and misunderstanding in. His mouth moved over her warmly, finally offering up that hidden hope. She allowed her mind to hesitantly reach out to feel the shape of it once more, aching for it.

Feeling the brush of her against his awareness, Ben eased his hold and stepped back from her. Rey stared up at him, bewildered. Her mind grasped for his with a newfound need she'd never have expected to feel for someone, but it was he who held himself out of her reach now.

Ben was breathing heavily, a flush coloring the high peaks of his cheekbones. Belying his obvious craving to hold Rey, he regarded her in silence with a patience she keenly suspected was rather out-of-character for him. Feeling no less affected, Rey tried to fathom his intentions but was completely stymied by the contradiction before her.

Then she realized. He had shown what he was capable of _—_ that he could overpower her if he wished, taking whatever he wanted. Ben deliberately retreated, though, opening the way for her to see that it wasn't by force that he wanted to have her.

He didn't look merely to take but to give, as well. A tear rolled down her cheek as relief and elation broke through her in a rush. The choice was hers and Rey made it.

Holding that bewitching gaze, she stepped slowly up to Ben, closing the distance herself this time, instead of creating it. When she stood before him, she reached out and laid her palms flat on his chest. Ben watched her carefully, holding his silence, and his mind remote. That wouldn't do, so she took a breath and steadied herself as she tried stretching out with her awareness. 

There he was in her mind, that warm, velvety presence that made her long to wrap herself around him and never let go.

He let out a sharp breath of surprise at feeling her return, and she caught a sense that he'd not quite believed she'd take his invitation. He hadn't thought she'd accept him _—_ that she would _want_ him.

She hesitated only a moment longer, but then smiled up into his face. Ben looked astonished at the sight, warmth stirring in the rich umber of his eyes as he stared at her lips in wonder before meeting her gaze again. His expression was arrested, as though he wasn't quite willing to allow himself to hope for something that he still half-believed would be denied him.

Whatever sorrows had driven Ben Solo from his family, she swore to herself he would not be forced to bear them alone any longer _—_ for she was strong enough to shoulder them alongside him, and truth to tell, she needed him just as much.

Rey stepped into him and strove to expel his doubts with all that was in her. Reaching for him, she pulled Ben’s head down within reach and stretched up on her toes to claim those extraordinarily soft lips. She felt his hands come up to support her, to draw her closer, and Rey went. She nestled herself against him, reveling in the feel of his hard muscles meeting her own strong, yet giving body.

He was hot and wanting and already straining to loose his passions _—_ and she longed for him to.

Rey drew away, earning a growl of frustration from him. She smiled a little, feeling free and just a bit wicked for the first time in her life, and she basked in the heat of the burning need he looked down at her with.

 _Maker of Light, he's my equal in every way, but it's not my power he's really after._ **_I_ ** _am what he wants,_ she marveled, sensing his mind affirm the realization as it sought to embrace hers even more fully. She welcomed the contact, exhilarated by the feel of Ben's aura dancing along hers, his flesh aching to find a similar union.

Placing her fingertips across Ben's lips as he tried to kiss her again, Rey slipped from his hold and stepped to the flap of her tent, flicking it open slightly to peer out, reaching even further with the senses she no longer had to conceal from the man behind her. Finding that the coast was clear, Rey turned back and, after a moment more of consideration, she held her palm out to him. When his gloved hand slipped into hers, she drew aside the flap and passed through the cascade of glass beads.

Fires crackled invitingly off in the distance, faint voices raised in jest or song. Normally, she might have wandered over to join Finn and Rose or settle next to Old Maz, but tonight she ignored them. Climbing the steps to her caravan, Rey unbolted the door and drew Ben inside.

He actually had to stoop to prevent his head from cracking against the top of the door frame as he followed along behind, closing the door and turning back to face her. Her neat little home suddenly felt impossibly small with this massive man in it. It should have felt threatening, having a man like him here in her private corner of the world that not even Old Maz ever intruded upon. Instead, Rey felt his desire stoke hers.

She stepped back into the lamplight, holding Ben's gaze as he remained in the shadows by the door. He didn't move, just standing there as his eyes ran over her with a yearning that sent that liquid heat gliding down through her. Wanting to draw him out, she brought her hands up to unknot the thin red scarf that kept her hair tied up off her neck. Ben took a hurried step forward, reaching out to prevent her and she paused, wincing in sympathy as his forehead collided with one of the carved stars that she'd fashioned to hang from the ceiling of the caravan to watch over her while she dreamed.

Rey reached up and gently rubbed the blooming patch of red along his hairline with her thumb. Now that she was within reach, though, he was much more concerned with what had dragged him from the shadows. Reaching around her head, Ben's fingers began to work at the knot at the base of her skull. She realized with astonishment that he was trembling and it made him a little clumsy, tangling the thin fabric in her hairpins. His gloves were not especially helpful in catching hold of the slippery fabric, either.

When he huffed with annoyance, Rey couldn't help a quiet laugh at their fumbling. Taking his hands, she tugged at the fingers of each glove, slipping the supple leather away to bare the moonlight skin of his large hands. She pressed a kiss to the knuckles of one before dropping them to pluck the pins from her hair and let them fall to the floor. His fingers rose and the scarf slipped away with a whispering zephyr of energy that made her catch her breath. Loose at last, her hair tumbled down in a tangled curtain about her shoulders. Giving the strands a quick finger-comb, she made the best she could of it and then looked up, eyes still dancing merrily with amusement. 

She was utterly shocked, though, when her gaze alighted on the curve of Ben's smile. Her eyebrows shot up at the sight, not really considering until now that his face was capable of the expression. The softness that she'd thought altered his appearance so dramatically proved to be a mere hint of what Ben could look like with his true face revealed, though.

His smile, awkward and a little lopsided, transformed him completely. The stern lines carved between his brows smoothed away, spreading outwards from the corners of his eyes like wings. What made her lips part in absolute astonishment, however, was the realization that this man _—_ this overly-serious, powerfully chaotic, extraordinary man _—_ had _dimples._

Then the smile tightened a bit and began to slip away. Rey looked up to see the vulnerability that had crept back into Ben's eyes. Awareness still wrapped so closely around his own, she felt the fear, his consuming terror of having the only woman he'd ever wanted reject him. Despite the fact that she'd returned his advances, there was something deep inside him that was on the verge of shattering as he waited for her to turn away, even now.

After a life spent hiding herself away, keeping everyone at a distance for fear of being hurt, Rey wasn't about to forsake the first person who'd ever come to see the full truth of what she was and embrace her.

She could never turn from the one whose arms felt like home.

Colorful skirts swirling about her, she stepped into Ben and jumped up to catch herself around his broad shoulders. She felt his arms come immediately to support her while she twined her legs around his hips, clasping her ankles together against the backs of his thighs. Her lips sought and claimed his as she breathed in the scent of leather, savoring the taste of spiced wine. She allowed him to surround her, all that he was, willing herself to engulf him just as completely.

While he kept one arm tucked beneath her to hold her up against him, the strong muscles of his arms not even quivering beneath her weight, he freed his other hand to delve between their bodies and grasped for the scarlet ribbon that had proved his undoing the last time. Pulling away from him enough to look into his midnight-velvet eyes, Rey nodded and held his gaze as his fingers worked the knot apart and slipped the ribbon from the loops that it threaded through to hold the garment together.

Ben's eyes broke from hers for a moment to look down at the sliver of skin revealed between the parted seams of the soft cotton, the small swells of her breasts just barely visible in the flickering light of the oil lamp. Rey watched his throat bob as his gaze took in the sight of her, however little there was to see, and then return to hers. Staring into those incredibly deep wells of darkness that belied just how much light hid behind the shadows in them, she lowered her head to kiss him, finding the intimacy addictive now that she'd given in to the taste of him.

With an experimental flex of her mind, she dragged fingernails of power along his scalp and wrenched a groan from him. Inflammed by the sound as it vibrated through his chest and into hers, Rey's tongue sought the seam of his lips. When she slipped between them, Ben finally lost his rigorous hold on restraint.

He tore at her blouse one-handed, ripping it a little as he pulled it away, baring her skin. A thrill flew through her at the needy hardness she could feel pressing into her belly through their clothes, and Rey ached for more as she rocked her pelvis up into his hips. Ben ripped his mouth away from her then, eyes wild and warning her without a word that they were quickly slipping towards that point of no return she'd known they'd be drawn to tonight.

Rey pulled herself away, dropping from his arms. Ben let her go, a hint of that vulnerability reappearing in him, but she wouldn't allow it to take hold. He was hers and after tonight, he would never be made to doubt that she, in turn, was his.

 **_Trust me, Ben,_ ** she murmured into his mind, still nestled so close against her own consciousness. It felt so right, made Rey feel complete as she'd never known she could be. She never wanted to feel him slip away from her, now.

His broad shoulders relaxed at her silent reassurance, his eyes following her as though hopelessly entranced while Rey paced slowly to the cozy little nook in the wall behind the driver's perch that she'd made into a bed. The feeling of his gaze on her bared skin was exhilarating and emboldened her to hook her thumbs beneath the waistband of her skirts and shed the vibrant fabric until she stood before him, revealed in her entirety _—_ mind and body.

And though she didn't think he dared to believe it yet, her heart was slowly making space for him, as well.

Seating herself on the edge of the mattress, Rey waited for him. As Ben's steps brought him towards her, his own clothes fell to the floor, fabric left behind in his wake like dark footprints. By the time he reached her, his skin glowed in the lamplight, freed of his shroud of black. She trailed her gaze down over his broad chest and along the flat, densely-muscled span of his abdomen, blushing a little at the impressive evidence of his desire for her. Swallowing with some difficulty, Rey looked back up a little shyly to met his eyes again, though she let her growing arousal at the sight of his body show in her gaze.

When Ben held out his hand, palm up, she looked down at it, tracing the long lines that charted the manifold aspects of his life. It could tell her much, but instead of reading it, she placed her own in his hold with an acceptance that stirred the energies in the air into a frenzy.

He knelt down to one knee before her and lowered his head to brush a soft kiss over her wrist. At the sound of Rey's breath catching, he looked up in concern, brows drawing together at the sight of her tears. She just smiled through them, though, chest almost hurting from how her heart was racing at the sensation of Ben's lips touching the spot that tiny wings had alighted upon only hours ago.

With a watery laugh, Rey drew him towards her so she could rest her forehead against his, just shaking her head at his confusion. It didn't matter. Whatever had passed or should come tomorrow, all that meant anything right this moment was here between them.

She shared that thought with him and in the space of a heartbeat, Ben had risen over her, pushing her gently backward to make room for him. His tall warrior's body _—_ though magnificent _—_ barely fit in the cramped space, but neither of them begrudged the closeness while he shifted atop her. Ben settled himself carefully between her legs, keeping his eyes on hers, ready to withdraw at the first word of denial.

No rejection was offered, however, as Rey laid back fully into the cozy nest of blankets and pillows, settling her legs more comfortably to either side of him. She'd thought she'd know some measure of anxiety the first time, but with Ben, she felt safe and eager for his skin to rest against hers. When it did and his hardness pressed into her giving heat, Rey wrapped her arms around his neck and welcomed his kiss as Ben pushed forward.

They took in one another's broken cries as he sank into her slowly. Ben had to pause once, and then again when her muscles clenched up at the unaccustomed invasion, but the worshipful caresses of his mouth and hands soon coaxed her to relax. When he finally stopped, reaching as deeply as he could, they remained unmoving, staring into each other with every barrier cast irrevocably, joyfully aside.

Then Ben began to move.

It didn't last long, nor was there much in the way of finesse as they both sought to give pleasure, auras twining around one another in perfect harmony. Rey felt no discomfort aside from the burning stretch of her untested flesh around his heavy girth. It was her first time knowing the heat of a man's arousal and, by the uneven cadence of his strokes and the awe in his expression, she suspected it was Ben's first time being taken into a woman's deepest embrace. Running her fingers through the soft waves of his hair, dampened by the sweat of exertion, Rey pushed more fervently up into his kiss with the joy of discovering such a glorious intimacy with him.

Ben returned her ardor and rushed forward, plunging deep before bracing himself further up over her, his mouth still clasped to hers tipping her head back as her neck arched to follow. When he pulled back and drove forward again, Rey's whole body burned as the new angle dragged his throbbing length along the aching center of need only known to her own fingers, until now. The friction sent ripples of sensation lapping along beneath the surface of her skin. Hearing her gasp, his lips curled up in satisfaction as he continued to kiss her, those intense eyes of his open and holding hers entranced. Ben drove onwards, setting a rhythm that built a blazing inferno between them.

When at last they ignited, it was like swallowing the fire of the sun itself as the radiance within them both flared to bright, beautiful life in celebration of a bond foretold…but never guaranteed. Now, however, it was affirmed in full.

In the aftermath, Rey and Ben were left gasping, sweat-slick limbs clinging to one another in a drowsy attempt to hold onto the shivers of brilliance that continued to ripple through them gently. His consciousness wove perfectly through hers, embracing her core of power and cherishing the mind it was held within...but more importantly, the heart beneath it all.

This. This is what she'd longed desperately to discover amidst the intricate pattern of the threads of fate which bound her soul to his. She'd gambled her life on it and found the prize to be everything she could have hoped for _—_ _Ben_ was everything. Though still glassy from the headiness of the afterglow, his eyes told her clearly that he felt the same about her.

A smile broke across Rey’s face like the sunrise and though his shook slightly, Ben returned it.

Heavy as he was, no Wanderer worth her salt failed to learn how to outmaneuver someone who outweighed her _—_ even by double. Rey got her arms beneath her and managed to gain the leverage she needed to roll Ben onto his back, a weary breath leaving him as he went over. She was above him in an instant, unwilling to sacrifice even an inch of closeness, swinging a leg over him so she could settle herself on his hard stomach. His hands came up to grasp her hips, fingers digging into her soft skin slightly in excitement, spent though they both were. She didn't struggle to meet his heavy-lidded gaze any longer, finding the intensity of him more entrancing than intimidating, now.

Rey traced the lines of Ben's face with her fingertips, studying him. She treasured each bold feature, every subtle detail. Eyes falling to his cheek, her fingers brushed lightly across the angry scab. It was deep enough that it might well scar, she thought with sorrow. As furious as he'd made her, she'd not meant to mark him so.

"Help me, Ben," she whispered, turning her gaze to meet his, where he was watching her in fascination. He searched her eyes and nodded.

As they stared into each other, knowledge slowly passed from his mind to hers with an ease that astonished them both. Open and unresisting now, there were no longer any barriers to hold them apart.

Warmth bloomed under her fingers as she drew on what he'd shown her even as his own power wove itself with hers, fueling the effort, and making their auras glow with pure luminescence. When Rey raised her fingers and saw the unblemished skin, she smiled in utter amazement, elation coursing through her at seeing how this unlooked-for connection between them was capable of true marvels. 

Ben was right _—_ they _could_ be extraordinary together. They would be.

Without hesitation, she clasped Ben's handsome face between her hands and kissed him with all the wonder he'd sparked in her. Rey willed it to be filled with the strength of that fledgling feeling which was too new to properly name but was growing infinitely more certain and precious the more she allowed him in.

She could be killed for this, she knew. Even if her power remained secret, Wanderers were taboo when it came to physical intimacy for scions of the Houses and Orders, lest they breed more like them _—_ children carrying the potential of both parents, but unforgivably tainted by one. Rey had no idea what would be done to him, or even whether Ben would be punished at all for coming to her bed. Whatever leniency he might be granted, however, she would surely pay the price for them both, if their transgression was discovered.

"You won't," he murmured, pulling away a little and bringing a hand up to cup her cheek in his large palm. He looked at her with a fierce resolve that made her believe his next words without reservation, "I won't allow anything to happen to you, Rey. _No one_ will take you from me."

She didn't need to search his expressive eyes or pick at the sincerity behind his words. Ben's mind was entwined so perfectly with hers in a way that felt like a completion more intimate and meaningful than what their bodies had given to one another only moments ago. She knew he meant it.

Rey brushed her fingers over his cheek with a reverence for all that they'd discovered between them tonight _—_ the unimaginable potential of their minds combined and the power of their hearts opening after so many years spent locked away.

There was so much of Ben that she didn't know, she acknowledged. The words of the prophecy and the message her cards had laid out for her to read made it clear there was a long and troubled road ahead. In this moment, however, Rey wasn't afraid to walk it by his side, committing herself unequivocally to it and turning forever from the lonely path behind. Ben had sworn to protect her, but she was not one to stand aside while another faced peril in her name. He'd discover that soon enough, she thought with a smile.

She _would_ give all, her heart swore, knowing she would receive all of him in return.

Pulling back from the comforting warmth of Ben’s chest to sit up, she peeked down to meet those dark eyes, open and abiding patiently for her. He had been doing that ever since she'd met him, Rey realized. He'd waited for her to turn, to look into him, and to find it within herself to reach out to meet his touch. Was it possible he'd been waiting far longer than either of them realized?

Perhaps they both had.

Whatever this was between them, this thread of fate which trailed between their hearts, she couldn't fathom. Yet, looking into Ben's eyes and through to his very soul, she chose to trust in the Light that shone forth to embrace them both. After all, as nature created wonders like the wings of a butterfly or the beat of the human heart in pairs, the power from which it was made crafted the most glorious of its creations along the same design. The beauty of that simple truth filled her, and Rey smiled as the other half of her soul pushed himself up on his elbows and rose to meet her lips with his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **BTS Ramblings:**
> 
> **Pennyroyal:** For those who are unfamiliar with herbs and some of the medicinal uses they can be used for, pennyroyal is quietly famous for being an all-natural approach to birth control (when used correctly & with the supervision of a physician or healer). Rey went into this chapter prepared, never doubt it.
> 
>  **Spiced Wine:** Why does Kylo/Ben taste like spiced wine? Well. I needed him to taste like something because, you know...descriptive language. My background canon is that he had to build up a little courage before stomping down the hill to visit Rey. He's not a drunk, mind. He just needed to stiffen his spine in preparation for catching Rey when she flung herself into his arms!
> 
>  **Bees:** I'm a total coward when it comes to anything that buzzes, so I think Rey is a hero just for being so calm around her tiny visitor. It's considered a sign that a visitor is soon to arrive if a bee gets into your house. If you kill the bee, then the visitor will likely be angry. However, if you leave the bee alone and allow it to enter and leave unharmed, it's a good omen for the outcome of the visit. 
> 
> There's a second bee-related superstition that I snuck into the story, as well. It can be considered a sign that you've found your soulmate if a bee lands on you without stinging your skin.
> 
> I had a friend in college who grew up with a family-owned apiary, and she was full of fun bee factoids. When I saw room to make use of them here, I was thrilled ~ thank you, Gia!
> 
>  **Amethyst:** Amethyst crystals are typically seen to represent calm and intuition, being associated with the mind.
> 
>  **Rose Quartz:** By contrast, rose quartz often represents love, compassion, and peace. Naturally, it's associated with the heart. Makes sense why it insisted on Rey using it instead of the amethyst, don't it?
> 
>  **The Lovers Card:** We all knew that's what Rey's card was going to be, yeah? Yeah. The card, as you might suppose, represents romance, connection, and harmony.
> 
>  **Tarot Reading:** There's so much more to tarot reading than I describe in this story. In the interest of not burying the reader under a mountain of detail, however, I kept what was shown rather simple. There are all sorts of layouts and methods of interpretation that can come into play during a reading. Please don't take my bare-bones approach as any insult to practitioners, but rather as a way to bring the tarot into this story in an accessible way.
> 
>  **Comes in Two's:** Did you spot all of the 2's in this story? While it wasn't something that I sought to make too obvious, I had a bit of fun weaving a touch of numerology into the telling. The number 2 is symbolic of union, of the effort to find balance and partnership, even relationship. It’s an extremely sensitive number and is considered strongly feminine. I thought it was the perfect number to use for this romantic two-parter… *wink, wink*


End file.
